Dark Labyrinth
by MBrabs1996
Summary: Natasha is pregnant and she should be happy, right? Scared would be the correct word when you have old enemies constantly making threats and things start to get much more difficult. They may just have to rely on the help of old friends. Sequel to Falling Back. Story is better than it sounds. Please R&R :)
1. Christmas Eve

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the sequel to Falling Back, I hope y'all like it! You don't have to read that one to understand this one though. I don't own any of the characters besides Lili, Natasha and Clint's adopted daughter, Jason "Jace", Tony and Peppers infant son, and Maria's dad, brother, sister, and Alexa. -you'll meet these characters at some point. **

Natasha awoke on Christmas Eve day in a daze, and for a moment, she didn't know how she got to bed. The last thing that she remembered was staying up late to do paper work with Clint from the mission they had gone on a few days before, and she must've dozed off because she woke up in their bed.

Natasha looked at the clock on her bedside table to see that it was seven in the morning. She sighed, about to get up and get ready for work when she remembered that Fury had reluctantly decided to give them the next two days off as a request from Bruce and Tony due to the holiday. Just when she closed her eyes to get another hour of sleep, her green eyes snapped open once more and she bolted out of bed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

_What is wrong with me? _She thought, groaning and resting her back up against the cold shower door.

"Tasha? Are you okay?" Clint asked, knocking on the door.

Natasha sighed and got up, opening the door.

"I'm fine, Clint." She said, walking past him and out of their bedroom, walking quietly down the hall to Lilith's room to see that she had woken up as soon as she heard them open her door.

"Mommy! Daddy!" She shouted, throwing off her light blue comforter and jumping out of bed and running into Natasha's arms.

"How'd you sleep, Lili?" Clint asked, giving the four-year-old a kiss on the forehead.

"I sleep good, daddy! Can we go eat breakfast now?" She asked, bright blue eyes looking at her parents.

Natasha nodded and put the blonde headed child down, allowing for her to run down the stairs and to the elevator, jumping up and down in impatience as she waited for them to join her.

* * *

The three of them walked into the main lounge to see Bruce in the kitchen preparing breakfast while the others, excluding Maria and Steve, sat at the table.

"Where are Maria and Steve?" Clint asked, placing Lili in the chair beside Pepper, who was holding Jace.

"Maria and Steve went to a family reunion for Maria's family." Pepper said, grabbing her tablet off the counter and looking through it.

"Yeah, something about her family being old fashioned and wanting to meet Steve before they get married." Tony said, yawning as he came into the kitchen and giving Pepper and his six month old son a kiss.

"Right. Must've slipped our minds." Natasha said, sighing as Bruce placed pancakes and bacon on the table, fighting back the nausea as she served herself and started to eat.

"Sure you're alright, Tasha?" Clint asked, feeling Natasha's forehead for a fever.

"You do look pale." Bruce said, looking up at the assassin with concern.

Natasha nodded and opened her mouth to speak, only to push away from the table, running through the main lounge and into the bathroom, throwing up once more as Clint kneeled down behind her and held her hair out of her face.

"I think you need to go see a doctor." Clint said, helping Natasha up.

"Clint, i'm fine." She said, leaning up against the bathroom sink.

"You're obviously not fine if you're throwing up every ten minutes. How long have you been sick for?" Clint asked, looking intently at his wife.

Natasha sighed, knowing that he wouldn't stop bothering her until she gave him the answers he wanted.

"A few days. Look, if I don't feel better by tomorrow, i'll make an appointment, alright?" She asked, lowering her voice so the others wouldn't hear.

Clint nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving her, knowing she wanted some privacy to get cleaned up.

Natasha sighed and picked up her phone, closing the bathroom door as she dialed a number.

"Hello?" A girl's voice said, making Natasha's heart stop before she relaxed considerably.

_It's just Emily._

She sighed, "Emily, it's Natasha. Can you get Maria? It's urgent."

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	2. Christmas Day

**A/N: Here's the next chapter everyone! Enjoy :)**

There was silence on the other end of the line for what seemed like hours when it was really just minutes as the phone was passed to Maria.

"_Someone better be dying."_ She answered, her voice heavy with sleep since Emily had woken her up to hand the phone to the woman.

Maria had never been a morning person.

"Maria, I have a problem. Clint wants me to see a doctor."

Maria sighed, _"And your problem is...?" _She asked, trailing off as Natasha heard a door shut on the other end, knowing Maria was probably in the bathroom for the conversation.

"I haven't been feeling well and you know that I hate doctors...and hospitals."

"_Wow...the Black Widow is afraid of doctors and hospitals." _

Natasha rolled her eyes, briefly forgetting that Maria couldn't see her, "I'm not afraid of them. I just don't like them." She said, sighing as she heard a shower on the other end turn on.

"_Well, are you pregnant? When was your last period?" _

Natasha actually had to think about it for a few minutes, realizing that her period was over a week late and had never thought about it until Maria had brought it up.

"Maria, i'm going to have to call you back." She said, hanging up and reaching under the bathroom sink, knowing Pepper always had a few extra pregnancy tests and took one up to her and Clint's room, sighing in relief when the others didn't notice her disappear into the elevator.

The wait seemed to take forever for Natasha and she was getting increasingly anxious.

_Calm down, Natasha. Maybe you're not pregnant. Maybe it's just stress. _She thought, picking up the test when the timer on her watch beeped.

Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach at seeing the positive result and threw the test in the trash can and sat down on the floor, putting her head in her hands.

_What am I going to do? _She thought, sighing and letting the tears fall.

"I was supposed to have problems getting pregnant. Especially after the miscarriage," She said to herself, more tears falling when she remembered the painful miscarriage she had endured almost a year earlier, "What if it happens again?"

Groaning, she got up and walked out of the bathroom, grabbing her laptop off the dresser and sitting on the bed with the computer on her lap for over five hours.

"Hey, we missed you at lunch." Jane said, coming into the room with a plate of food and stopping at the foot of the bed.

The redhead looked up in surprise, half expecting to see Clint walk into the room and get her to eat something.

"Clint had to go help Tony and Bruce with something." Jane said, handing her the plate of food to Natasha and sitting down on the bed beside her.

"I haven't been very hungry lately." She said, shrugging and putting the food on the bedside table, sighing as she briefly closed her lap top, "I'll eat at dinner. I just have a lot of paperwork to do." She lied, knowing that she had actually finished the paperwork the night before and was actually starving, but she couldn't bring herself to eat.

"You need to eat."

"I will. Can I just be alone?"

Jane sighed and got up, "Fine, but I will come back in an hour to make sure you've eaten at least half that sandwich!" She ordered, turning on her heel and walking out of the room.

Natasha nodded and opened her laptop once more, taking the sandwich and forcing herself to eat it like Jane had told her. When Jane had come back in an hour later, she was pleased that Natasha ate a good majority of the sandwich on her plate, unaware that as soon as the assassin had eaten it, she had thrown up. She just couldn't keep anything down.

After working for several more hours, Natasha yawned and lay back in the bed.

She let her eyes drift shut and she fell into a deep sleep, briefly forgetting about the events of that morning.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**

**I promise it gets better :)**


	3. Telling Clint

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Hope y'all like it! Sorry if it's not the best chapter.**

Natasha felt pressure on her back and the feel of someone with small hands shaking her shoulders.

"Wake up! Wake up! Santa came!" Lilith exclaimed, jumping up and down on the bed as Natasha and Clint both groaned.

"Can we just tell her?" Clint asked, peeking open one blue eye to look at his wife, who glared.

"No. You're not ruining our daughters first Christmas with us." She said, watching as Clint got out of bed and picked up the four-year-old and left the room, giving Natasha enough time to rush to the bathroom and throw up once more.

_That's it. I might as well tell him today. _She thought, getting up on shaky legs and heading to the main lounge.

"Well, glad you could finally join us, Spidey." Tony said, causing for Natasha to roll her eyes.

"How're you feeling?" Pepper asked, putting a gentle hand on Natasha's shoulder as the assassin sat down.

Natasha was about to respond when Lilith cut her off.

"Can we open presents now?" She asked, tugging on her mothers hand as she jumped up and down in excitement.

"Alright, Lilith. Calm down." Natasha said, sighing as she got up and knelt down by the tree to hand out presents to everyone.

* * *

It took the better part of an hour for everyone to open their presents. Clint received a new set of arrows and a new quiver, a new uniform, and some other, small and fairly useless items courtesy of Tony.

"Thanks guys. Just what I wanted!"

Lilith got a new bike, the movie; _Frozen_, including the soundtrack which made everyone groan, a piggy bank, and her own child set of bow and arrows, and new clothes. Yeah. She was the most spoiled out of all of them.

"Can we magically make the movie she got go "missing" for a few days?" Jane asked, sighing, "It's a cute movie, don't get me wrong, but if I hear one more reference, i'm going to throw someone out a window." She added, crossing her arms as everyone nodded in agreement.

"I like that movie. Lady's Emily and Maria seem to enjoy it along with friend Steve as well." Thor said, taking a closer look at the movie.

"We'll keep it on our floor so she only watches it there." Natasha said, looking at Clint who nodded.

"Thank you" everyone chimed in, relieved that Lili wouldn't be watching the movie in the main lounge like they thought she would.

Tony got an x box 360, a new science kit that would keep the blowing up of the lab down to a minimum, and a _complete dictionary of sarcasm._

"Are you guys trying to imply that I don't know sarcasm?"

"What was your first clue?" Betty asked, rolling her eyes.

Of course Thor got new clothes so that he didn't have to wear his asgardian armor all the time, a bag to keep said armor in, and a coat hanger to put his cape and hammer on.

"Thanks for such wonderful gifts, friends." Thor said, giving each and every one of them a bear hug that nearly crushed them.

Jane received a new telescope and some new equipment since she had to leave most of her equipment behind when she came to live with them.

"I honestly don't know what to say, guys. Thanks."

Betty got a white lab coat for any future tests that she would most likely have to do for her job and some syringes, which was really all that she wanted. She never liked getting presents. She mumbled a brief 'thank you' and looked down at her lap.

Pepper got new clothes since that was really all she wanted, and a diamond necklace from Tony, and Jace got a huge Teddy bear, a toy 'fun pad' which made lights and sounds, a sound projector to play lullabies at bed time, which Pepper was thankful for, and a teething ring.

"Yeah, he definitely needs this." Pepper said, handing the ring to Jace, which he started to chew.

Natasha got a curling iron and a hair straightener, a gold necklace, a joy buzzer, which she glared at Tony for, and a new jean jacket.

"Figured you'd need joy in your life, Spidey." Tony said, nodding to the joy buzzer as Bruce opened his presents to reveal a microscope, some microscope slides, beakers, and vials.

"Well, that was a great bonding experience! Let's go eat breakfast. I'm hungry." Tony said, getting up at the same time as Lili and racing her to the kitchen, Pepper and the others following behind as Tony and Lili began to argue about who won. Natasha and Clint stayed behind.

"You never answered Pepper's question. How're you feeling?" Clint asked, looking at Natasha curiously.

"I need to tell you something. Come with me." She said, heading briskly into the elevator with Clint. She waited until the doors closed to press the emergency stop button, causing the lights to go out and the emergency ones to turn on.

"Why did you stop the elevator, Nat?" Clint asked, raising an eye brow at her.

"We need to talk."

"And we couldn't talk out there? Or on our floor?" He asked, getting more confused at Natasha's strange behavior.

"This is personal and I don't want anyone to eavesdrop on us."

Clint sighed, not wanting to argue with her this early in the morning, especially on Christmas.

"Alright. What is it?" He asked, leaning against the wall of the elevator.

"I'm pregnant."

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review and I shall give you a cookie ^_^**

**(::) see?**


	4. Fun & Notes

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated the last few days. Things have been really busy around here. Either in this chapter or the next one, you'll meet an OC, Alexa. You may know more about her if you've read my "Operation team bonding-part 2" story. If not, it'll be explained more as to who she is later on. Enjoy.**

Clint didn't exactly know what to say. His wife just crossed her arms and raised an eye brow at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Are you sure?" He asked, his eyes going from her face to her stomach and then back to her face.

"Yes, Clint. I'm positive." She said, sighing.

"I honestly don't know what to say." He said, bending down and kissing her on the lips.

"You're not mad?"

"Natasha, why would I be mad? I wouldn't have married you if I didn't want kids, and I wouldn't have let you talk me into adopting Lilith."

"I'm scared, Clint." She said, sliding down to the elevators floor, her back against the wall.

"Why?" He asked, sitting down beside her and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I don't know how to be a mother...not to a baby, anyway. I don't want to miscarry again and that thought terrifies me." She said, green eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Hey, you're a great mom to Lilith. I know she's not exactly a baby, but we have a lot of people who will help out. You won't miscarry again. Many women can have another child after a miscarriage. We'll also be more careful because we know you're pregnant this time." He said, kissing her on the forehead.

"I guess you're right." She said, getting up and pressing the start button and the elevator started moving once more, finally stopping at the main lounge.

"There you guys are! Were you having a quickie or something?" Tony asked, earning a glare from Natasha, who said something in another language as her phone buzzed.

A text from Maria.

_Hey, I hate to ask, but do you think you can ask Pepper if she can set up a room on my and Steve's floor, please?_

Natasha raised an eye brow, looking at Clint before she responded,

_What for?_

_You'll see_

_~Maria_

Natasha rolled her eyes and went to Pepper, who stood by the stove, and showed her the first text that Maria had sent her.

Pepper nodded, "Of course!" She said, giving a soft smile before returning to making breakfast and bickering with Tony.

"I said no, Tony."

"Why?"

Pepper sighed, "Because kidnapping is rude and illegal. I doubt you would get out of it unscathed."

"What does he want to do?" Betty asked, raising an eye brow.

"He wants to go to Xavier's place and kidnap Pietro and Wanda." She said as Jane took a sip of her drink, only to spit it out all over the table.

"Ha! That's funny! You wouldn't live to see the next day if you went and tried to kidnap any of those mutants from Xavier's school! Maria told me about the incident with Logan and Raven. Logan said, quote, fuck off, un quote. They were also in the middle of a couple fight." Jane said, trying to contain her laughter.

"Wait...her name is Raven? I thought her name was Mystique? Since when are she and Logan an item? They hate each other. She's a bad guy. She's with them."

"They don't hate each other. They've been on and off for two years. She's not a so-called "bad guy" either. She's not on the "bad" side, but she's not on the "good" side. She's on her own side." Natasha said, sighing as she added, "Her real name is Raven, but she prefers Mystique. Her back ground is similar to Maria's. Grew up being abused and her parents tried to murder her. I should invite her over next time she's in town."

"Oh hell no! If you invite any mutants, they need to be able to pass as normal humans! If that...thing comes here, she has to be in her human looking form. The blonde hair, blue eyed, pale skin, hotter form. Not the complete opposite." Tony said, turning to face her.

"Good luck trying to get her to agree to that. She's only in that form when Logan requests it. Or Erik and Xavier. No one else." Natasha said, getting up and pouring a cup of tea.

* * *

The day continued on with everyone talking as Pepper had gone out to the store to grab a few things for the room she was preparing, but still refused to tell everyone what was going on. Natasha spoke with Clint off to the side as Thor handed her a piece of paper, obviously addressed to her, with a short message scrawled on it in neat hand writing.

_Better watch your back, Widow. Your every move is being watched._

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**

**Oh and here's that cookie for those that have already reviewed: (::)**


	5. Alexa

**A/N: Here's the next chapter guys! You'll meet Alexa in this chapter for sure! Enjoy!**

Natasha and Clint were the last ones up as they came down to the main lounge the next morning to see Lili playing with the dog, Natasha briefly forgetting about the ominous note that was left for her.

"When will Auntie 'Ria and Uncle Steve get back?" She asked as they sat down.

"She's been asking that all morning." Pepper said, sighing.

"I miss them." Lilith said, sniffling.

"Well you don't have to miss us anymore."

Maria.

Lili's eyes lit up like a christmas tree at the familiar voice.

"Auntie 'Ria! Uncle Steve!" She screamed, getting up and running to them, stopping when she saw another little girl not much younger than her with them, "Who this?" She asked curiously as everyone came into the room to greet them.

"Another kid?" Tony asked, rolling his eyes.

"So that's why you guys asked me to set up another room on your floor." Pepper said, picking up Jace from his carrier and holding him close.

"This is Alexa. She can't talk though, but we'll be working on that," Maria said, turning to face the child, "How about you go play with Lilith?" She asked before turning to Lili, "Show her around please, Lili?"

Lili smiled and enthusiastically nodded, happy to have a new friend around as she grabbed Alexa's hand, "My name is Lili. I show you around, okay?" She asked, leading the girl into the elevator.

"So, who is Alexa?" Thor asked, watching the elevator doors close.

"And why is she here?" Betty added, putting her hands on her hips.

"She was my Aunt Shawna's foster daughter, but my aunt Shawna obviously isn't a fit foster mother. She loves other children, but refused to tell me why she despised Alexa so much. I got sick of her treatment of Alexa."

"And Alexa is two. I printed out adoption papers for them to sign." Emily said, coming out of the kitchen eating a sandwich.

"When did you get here?" Bruce asked, having not noticed the teen arrive.

"I arrived with Maria and Steve," She said, nodding her head toward them, "The story Maria told you is the short version, by the way." She added, heading to the elevator.

"Pepper, did you set up the room?" Maria asked, turning her attention to Pepper.

"Yes. I think it will suit Alexa just fine." She said, getting up and handing Jace to Tony.

"You knew about this, Pepper?" Jane asked, earning a slight nod from Maria as they all entered the elevator with Natasha following them.

They found Alexa and Lilith in the room Pepper had set up for her. The room had light blue walls and a queen sized bed similar to Lili's with a zebra print comforter and railings on the edges. In one corner of the room was a book shelf with children's books, and on the other side was a cedar chest filled with toys.

"There's a book shelf so you guys can teach her how to read and talk. And in the bedside table there's a notebook to teach her how to write. I got the bed from storage because I had a feeling that we would need it eventually, plus, it has railings so she won't fall out while she's sleeping. There's toys in that cedar chest and some clothes in the closet."

"Where'd you find the sheets?" Steve asked, turning to her.

"I bought them at the store this morning before everyone else was awake and finished putting the bed together."

"Thank you, Pepper." Maria said, nodding at her as she watched Alexa grabbed a toy from off the bed.

"How long she staying?" Lili asked, still confused.

"For good, Lili. You've got a little play mate in the tower." Natasha explained as Lili wearily looked at the other child as Maria sat on the floor and put Alexa in her lap while Lili turned and left.

"She took that well." Natasha said, sitting down across from Maria as Pepper left.

Maria nodded, "So, did you tell Clint yet?" She asked, leaning back against the bed.

"Yeah, he took it surprisingly well. Seems happy, anyway." She said as Maria sighed, "What?"

"I owe Fury twenty bucks." Maria said, earning a slap in the back of the head from her friend.

"Is that where part of your pay check goes?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, I hope you know that we've got the same bet about you and Steve." Natasha said, patting Maria on the shoulder and sighing, "I'm going to get fat."

Maria gasped, "You mean you aren't already fat to begin with?" She asked, only to be met with a stuffed animal to the face.

The two of them both walked up to the main lounge to an argument.

"I swear though! Them bringing a kid home should apply to the bet!"

Maria looked at Natasha, "That's the bet that you were talking about?"

"I think they're arguing that you guys bringing a kid home is the same as actually having a baby." Natasha said, shrugging.

"But it's not."

"That's what Clint is arguing."

The two women sighed and sat on the couch, listening to the arguing.

"What's the mutes name again?"

"She's not a mute, Tony."

"Well she acts like it!"

"She can't talk yet...can I punch him?" Maria asked, looking at Steve.

"Maybe later." Steve said, handing Maria his sketch pad, which Maria through at the billionaire, who ducked and ran for the elevator.

_They're not even back for twenty minutes and they already want to kill him._

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :) they make me happy :p**


	6. Fury

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated for awhile. I've been feeling down lately, so i've been clearing my head. Yes, Emily is Maria's younger sister. She's sixteen and is actually based off of me in some ways, but she is also based off of other people I know as well. Most of my OC's are, anyway. P.S. I know the incident with Bucky happened in April, but September just works for this story.**

Natasha and Clint sat in Director Fury's office the next day. He was pacing in front of them anxiously. Natasha hadn't seen him this way since the incident with Barnes not too long ago, and they had been slowly trying to rebuild SHIELD since it happened in September.

"Well, I can't say I didn't see this coming." Fury said, sitting back in his chair.

"Sir, I just thought I should say that Natasha and I aren't going to let this pregnancy interfere with our work. Not too much, anyway." Clint explained, looking at Natasha, who nodded in agreement.

"He's right. We haven't let Lili interfere with our work, so why would this be much different?" She added, raising an eye brow at the director and crossing her arms.

"You two are acting like i'm suggesting an abortion. That isn't the case at all. What are your plans?"

"Well, we decided that I would be in the field for a little bit longer, but not too long, and then i'll just do paper work until I take my leave."

"And i'll take a little time off after the baby is born."

Director Fury nodded, signaling that the two of them could leave.

"Oh and Agents? Congratulations."

The two nodded and left his office only for Maria to enter with a little girl in her arms, who she set down on the floor.

"Yes, what is it? Who is this?" He asked, eyeing the toddler who looked at him with her vibrant green eyes.

"This is Alexa. Captain Rogers and I have actually adopted her over the last few days."

Director Fury sighed and rubbed his temples. This wasn't his day.

"Alright, do you really think it's wise considering how many enemies you have? Especially considering the events within the last few months?"

"I can assure you that she won't be with anyone that isn't approved by the two of us. She will be under strict supervision and will be in our sights at all times."

Fury reluctantly gave a curt nod, "Alright then. You're dismissed, lieutenant."

Maria nodded and picked up the little girl and hastily left the room to find Natasha and Clint in her office.

"So, how'd your talk with Fury go?" Natasha asked, sitting down in the chair on the other side of Maria's desk.

"Better than I thought it would go. Yours?" Maria asked, smoothing down Alexa's silky black hair.

"Same. I half expected him to fire us." Clint answered.

"That's a little extreme." Maria said, looking up as Skye entered.

"Hey, Agent Romanoff? Someone gave me this to give to you. I'm not sure who though." Skye explained, handing a white envelope to the assassin, who thanked her and gave a curt nod.

As Natasha started to read it to herself, Maria's desk phone rang.

"This is Hill."

"_Hey Agent Hill, Emily is on the line." _

"Send her through." She said, listening intently as Emily was finally patched through to her.

"_Maria, I don't know what to do. Everything is my fault and I can't...Dante even said it, and dad_"_

Maria sighed and cut the teen off, "What the hell are you talking about? Okay, Emily, calm down, first of all_" She started, raising an eye brow as Natasha crumpled the note in her hand and took the phone from Maria, putting it to her ear with the other hand shakily holding the note.

"Hey, Emily, shut up for a minute! Dante is a douche and your dad is also a dick even if he has changed, which is a load of BS. You're not going to want to hear it, but even if your dad is pleasant now, he will without a doubt relapse. Got it? Good. Now, I expect you to be ready in the next ten minutes because you, me, and Maria are going to go kidnap Pepper and we're going to have a girl's day," Natasha explained, hanging up the phone before picking it up again and dialing another number, "Hey Sharon, it's Agent Romanoff. Tell Fury that me and Maria are off the clock for the rest of the afternoon." She ordered, hanging up the phone again.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Just get your stuff and let's go while we have the chance!" Natasha snapped, dropping the crumpled up note into the trash can and grabbed Alexa with one arm and Maria's arm with the other and dragging her out of the room.

Clint got up, confused, and reached into the trash can for the note. He knew that whatever the note said freaked Natasha out enough to suddenly want to leave and take Maria with her.

"_Remember what they say, Natalia. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. You may want to keep an extra close eye on your family. Especially those little girls. It would be a shame if something happened to them."_

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	7. Clint Knows

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, i've been on vacation lately. I've also been working on my Guardians of the Galaxy fanfiction, so feel free to check that out if you're interested. Enjoy.**

Natasha and Maria went to Stark Industries to pick up Pepper, who was not very willing to leave. It took over thirty minutes of Natasha's nagging before Pepper finally agreed to go just to get her to shut up, leaving her assistant in charge. With that taken care of, they went to pick up Emily, Lili, and Alexa at Maria's fathers place. John had found a place in late October and by the first week of November he and Emily had moved in. Although when Emily had free time, she still preferred the tower or the base than stay with their dad...for obvious reasons.

John was currently in the process of painting the living area, so it was covered in grey sheets and newspapers with several buckets of paint when they entered. Both women walked through the apartment, having left Pepper in the car, taking great care not to knock over any of the paint.

"Who's there?" John called from the kitchen.

"Just me and Natasha, dad." Maria answered, entering the kitchen to see Lili and Alexa seated at a table and her father taking cookies out of the oven, "Since when do you bake?"

John sighed, "Needed a hobby." He said, taking out another plate of already made cookies, offering them to the two children, who nodded enthusiastically at his offer.

"Where's Emily?" Natasha asked, noticing the teens absence as she took a cookie for herself that John offered, splitting it with Maria.

"In her bedroom. She said she was going to do some homework, but I don't think she is." John said with a sigh.

"So you noticed it too, huh? Everyone has. Even Thor...heck, even Stark noticed. I've tried to get her to talk with me, but all she does is shut me out. She called at work today. That's actually why we're here." Maria explained, sighing before she and Natasha turned and walked back towards Emily's room.

Both women stood in the door way to Emily's bedroom, silently watching the teen, who was oblivious that they were there. The teen was sprawled across her queen sized bed, propped up on her elbow as she wrote in her notebook with headphones in.

"You think she's depressed again? Think she's going to..." Natasha started, trailing off as she stopped to look at Emily before making a cut throat hand motion across her neck. Maria sighed and shrugged. The last thing any of them wanted was for Emily to attempt again after the two previous attempts.

Maria left Natasha standing in the doorway and approached her younger sister, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. Emily quickly shut her notebook and looked at Maria.

"Hey. Ready to go?" Maria asked, her hand not leaving Emily's shoulder.

Emily nodded, "Yeah. Just give me a minute. I'll be out soon."

Maria nodded and left the room with the assassin, closing the door behind them before going back to the kitchen.

"What was she up to?"

"Writing something in a note book. She shut it quickly so I couldn't see though." Maria answered, looking as worried as John and Natasha were.

"Well, we can't jump to conclusions, alright? For all we know, it could be a diary and she is a teenage girl, so she's going to want some privacy." Natasha said as the teen in question came into the kitchen, causing for everyone to stop and stare at her.

"What? Did someone die?" Emily asked, green eyes scanning everyone anxiously.

"No, Emily. Ready to go?"

Once again, Emily nodded and said goodbye to her father before she followed the two women and the children out of the apartment. Once in the car, Emily noticed that it was Pepper who was sitting next to her in the backseat as Maria and Natasha buckled Alexa and Lili into the car seats.

"Hope you weren't waiting too long, Pepper." Emily said, buckling herself in.

"Not at all, sweetie. I'm here against my will."

"Actually, you came willingly." Natasha said, looking back at her in the rearview mirror of the SUV.

"To get you to shut up and stop bothering me."

"Well, relax. Your assistant has everything under control." Maria said, getting into the passenger seat.

"Tell me again...why are we going to the mall?" Pepper asked, crossing her arms.

"For some girl time." Natasha answered as they left the parking garage of the apartment complex, "Hey Em, I couldn't help but notice the silver prius when we pulled in. Is that yours?" She added, trying to make small talk.

"Yeah it is. Tony got it as a gift to congratulate me on getting my license."

"Oh. Is that why Maria and Pepper were pissed at him a couple months back?"

"Yes. We'd be fine if it was a less expensive car, but a prius? Really?" Maria asked, turning her whole body around to look at her sister.

"Well, Dad doesn't have a car, i'm not going to ask Danny and Anna to borrow theirs, and I refuse to be driven or take public transport."

"Why not walk?" Pepper asked, raising an eye brow.

"Are you kidding me? My school is in the sketchy, most ghettoist part of New York! I go to school in Harlem, okay? And you want me to walk? Sorry, but do you have any idea how many times i've had some street gangs come up to me and try to sell me drugs and some have even threatened me and gave me the dirtiest fricken looks!"

"You know self-defense. I'm pretty sure you keep some weapons on hand too."

"Wait. You're pissed that Stark bought her a car, but you let her have weapons and bring them to school?"

"Oh please. Dad puts it in a safe box hidden in his room when she gets home from somewhere and then gives it to her before she goes out. It's not like we let her have it 24/7. It wasn't my idea anyway. It was Danny's. I was actually against it for obvious reasons."

"Yeah, Danny made me a conceal carry permit. I have my swiss-army knife in my pocket for when I reach school. During school hours I keep my gun in my glove compartment box so if someone tries to car jack me or whatever, i've got the gun." Emily said, shrugging as Natasha pulled into the mall parking garage, "It's really only for when i'm in sketchy parts alone, especially at night."

"So the permit is fake?"

"No. it's legit. Danny's a police officer so he has the ability to make them."

They got out of the car and shopped in silence for a good portion of the day, and all three of them had actually noticed that as soon as she thought no one was looking, Emily looked upset. However, as soon as they were looking, she put on a smile. Maria and Natasha knew that all too well.

"You okay?" Maria asked as they left the store and walked through the crowds of people.

Emily sighed and looked at Maria, forcing a smile, "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Sure about that? You don't look fine."

"I said i'm fine so just drop it!" Emily snapped, walking up ahead of them towards the food court.

"I'll talk to her later. Maybe Clint can help." Natasha said, giving Maria a reassuring smile before they went to catch up with the sixteen-year-old.

* * *

As soon as they arrived back, Emily went up to the 19th floor, also Maria and Steve's floor, deciding that she'd stay at the tower for the weekend, while Maria and Pepper went to the main lounge on the 23rd floor, the top floor, with Lili and Alexa. Natasha went to her and Clint's floor, the 20th floor.

She walked into their bedroom to find Clint sitting on their bed, holding something in his hand.

Confused, the assassin put the shopping bags off to the side by the mahogany dresser and went over to get a look at what her husband was looking at. Her green eyes widened as she recognized the piece of paper and the all too familiar hand writing.

The note.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


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